Halloween, historically known as a day to remember the dead and as a day to perform mischief on others, draws the attention of many people every year and sees many roaming outside to enjoy its numerous activities and events.

However, one of the more troubling connections that are made between society and the holiday are the supposed rumors that there is a general increase in crime rates during Halloween. Additionally, albeit more speculative, there are rumors of more dangerous, serious crimes connected to Halloween occuring during the events.

This brings up a rather interesting query about crime on Halloween: whether or not there is actually a true increase in crime on the holiday. This is also an avenue for additional questions, such as whether or not the severity of the crime increases or if more protective measures should be made on Halloween.

One important factor to consider before truly exploring crime on Halloween is the general opinions of people concerning crime. From several people, the general sentiment appears to be that Halloween has little influence on serious crime, and if anything, only creates in increase in smaller crimes comparable to pranks, along with accidents.

Ashley Zeng, a student in Orange County, believes that “there wouldn’t be an increase in major crime.” However, she does believe that there will “definitely be an increase in smaller crimes, like vandalizing or destroying people’s decorations.” Additionally, another student, Jimmy Kang, believes that “there’s probably only an increase in DUI crimes on Halloween.”

Contrary to some people’s beliefs, some studies have demonstrated that most of these sentiments are true. There is an observable increase in crime on days such as Halloween, but this mostly constitutes of minor crimes and accidents such as DUI arrests and vandalizing, and not of the more serious end that some may have anticipated.

Some statistics recognize an increase in crime-related activity and others identify the sources and details of the crime. According to the Huffington Post, there have been increases in criminal activity on Halloween in areas such as Boston and Canada, with crimes often connecting to robberties and weapon-related felonies.

Additionally, they also report that a large factor in “Halloween crime” stems on alcohol consumption, especially around college campuses, as a result of intoxicated students roaming around after nightfall. However, they note that an increase in alcohol consumption is often the case on other holidays as well, such as Thanksgiving or New Year’s Eve.

However, another important factor to consider when counting the crime rates of Halloween are potential errors in reading the numbers. It is known that in some areas, more countermeasures are taken against crime on Halloween and often ends up catching more criminals with rates that do not truly change.

For example, the New Jersey Criminal Defense Attorneys report that despite the noticeable increase in number of DUI catches, this may just be a consequence of what law enforcement does in preparation for Halloween. They state that “throughout Halloween, local jurisdictions step up police presence in public places to enforce curfews, ensure public safety, and set up more DUI checkpoints.” This increase in police activity may simply lead to police ending up catching more people. To some degree, the rumors that there is an increase of crime on Halloween does seem to be true. However, this seems to only connect to accidents and minor crimes rather than serious accounts such as murder. Additionally, this may prove to be a result of increased protective measures against crime on Halloween.

<Heejae Park/ OCSA 10th>